Press Release
Amsterdam, 3 june 2026
79th Holland Festival Officially Opened in the Presence of the King and Queen
This evening, the Holland Festival was officially opened at Royal Theatre Carré in the presence of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima with the concert City of Floating Sounds by composer Huang Ruo.
For the audience, the concert began with a musical walk from various locations across the city, between the showers. Through a specially developed app, each participant heard one instrument from Huang Ruo’s orchestral composition on their phone. In a sold out Carré, the complete work was performed live by the Flanders Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martijn Dendievel. The programme also featured Shattered Steps, inspired by Huang Ruo’s vocal improvisations. Laurie Anderson presented a short performance in her iconic drum suit that allowed her to use her body as a percussion instrument.
In her opening speech, Festival Director Emily Ansenk reflected on the importance of listening in an increasingly noisy world. 'This is what we hope to offer through this festival: a shared space of attention. A place where listening becomes an act. Where empathy is practised. And where transformation becomes possible.'
Listening as a Central Theme
Listening is a key theme throughout the festival and in the work of this edition’s associate artist, composer and musician Hildur Guðnadóttir. As Guðnadóttir explains: 'Art, music and film are wonderful ways to help people listen to other stories, other perspectives, and to offer different ways of perceiving the world.'
Guðnadóttir is present at the festival with concerts as well as screenings of 3 films for which she composed the music. Where To From is her most personal performance of the festival, featuring music from her new album, created from musical diary fragments. In Nærmynd, she performs her own work alongside music by her inspirations with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. The score from the HBO series Chernobyl will be performed live at the Gashouder, while Passing Remark is a free concert in Westerpark. Guðnadóttir composed this work on commission from Holland Festival and Musica Sacra for students from Dutch conservatories.
New Perspectives
Inspired by Guðnadóttir’s artistic approach, the festival presents a wide range of performances and workshops that invite audiences to listen and experience from different perspectives and in different ways. During the opening, this was achieved by incorporating the sounds of the city and urban nature, while also making visitors an integral part of Huang Ruo’s composition.
In Laurie Anderson’s installation Your Eyes in My Head at Molen van West, audiences enter the narrator’s mind through specially designed headphones, creating an intimate listening experience.
Other performances challenge audience expectations. In Rave-L by Les Apaches !, Ravel’s iconic Boléro serves as the starting point for a radical reinterpretation featuring DJ Parrish Smith and visual artist Alexandra R., who creates spectacular live 3D projections. In the exuberant Bilderschlachten by composer Brigitta Muntendorf and choreographer Stephanie Tiersch, references to cultural and musical history cascade through a continuous stream of tableaux vivants.
A Possibility by Germaine Kruip offers a highly sensory and nearly meditative experience that exists somewhere between theatre, music and visual art. By subtly manipulating sight and sound, the performance leaves audiences questioning whether they can still trust their own senses.
Two works from the European theatre canon are reimagined through the lens of cancel culture and media influence. A Trial – after An Enemy of the People by Christiane Jatahy and Wagner Moura is based on Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, but here the audience is invited to pass judgment on the protagonist. The production is a special collaboration between Holland Festival, Festival d’Avignon and Edinburgh International Festival in anticipation of the three festivals’ 80th anniversaries in 2027.
In contrast, Brecht’s First Play, presented by Beijing Repertory Theater, Dead Centre and Tempest Projects, delivers a fierce reckoning with its central character.
With its 79th edition, Holland Festival showcases a remarkable diversity of artists who invite audiences to listen deeply and open their senses to new ways of perceiving the world.
Practical Information
Founded in 1947, Holland Festival celebrates its 79th anniversary in 2026. The programme includes 104 performances across 23 venues, including 11 world premieres. This year’s festival takes place from 3 to 28 June in Amsterdam and Heerlen.
The full programme information is available at hollandfestival.nl.
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